The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-10-02
SENTIMENTAL IMPRACTICAL
Miss Rose Cleveland Gives to the Public
Her Ideas of Practical Living.
The True Sentimentalist Has, in Her Opinion.
the Best Preparation for Practical Life
The Influence of Preoccupati0n.

that these things are pre- eminently the business
of life which is not wasted and that to addict
ones self diligently to this pursuit of practical
affairs is for q man and for woman, for the
young and for the old. an object wholly worthy
of all energy and application. 1t is, moreover,
the duty of all from whom advice properly
come to exhort and stimulate attention in this
direction.
There is no one of us who desires for ourselves
or for those in whom we are interested to merit
a classification among impractical people. Per-
haps the least popular thing that can be said
about man is said when hes is described az
always having his head in the clouds" In this
situation he is not available to himself or to
any one else for the practical affairs of life.
The shortest route to a clear conception Of
some things 10 by the way of clear conception OF
their exact opposites arrive at what they
are by means of our grasp on what they are not.
To follow, then. this method of negative defni-
ton, may be sure of popular assent II we say
that the practical affairs of life are exactly the
opposite of tho sentimental affairs of life. The
affair that is sentimental is always by til popu-
lar verdict the thing that is not practical.
am convinced that the popular verdict is in
have object, that object lies in the direction
CT a contribution towards effort to show that
tho truly sentimental woman has the
best preparation toward tho practical affairs OF
| life.
AS usual. philoloey is at fault. The word
| sentimental has suffered as much DETECTION from
| its simple. real meaning has the word practf.
| cal. The latter has come to stand for things
| real, the former for things unreal; or il more
liberal minds deny the strict truth of this desi-
| nation they will scarcely attempt to reject a
| modification of it by which it is claimed that to
follow the practical affairs of life is to follow the
| things which are certainly and surely the re-
munerasive things of life, the things about
which actually know, and whose value Is
| real because it is in things seen and proven.
While to follow things sentimental is to pursue
| a shadow, or at least thing which, IT at
| tanned does respond to the demands OF
| busy and effective human career
! human experience Every achievement has its
| beginning in th mind The Bhuddists were
| right All reality IS In the thought Here Is
| the root of the deed. 1t is the man of true
sentiment only who has behind him and before
| him effective human career
These misconceptions about the relation to
| each other of the practical and the sentimental
| are constantly and mischievousy IN force Inc
other evening friend OF mine present was COM
menting friend OF mine absent
me- although not we'll known to each
| other. It was my pleasure to make my friend
| my friend absent. which was nothing more and
| nothing less than vast expenditure OF affection
| in the most consequential manner-conseqnen-
tia in the widest sense to lte object. to herself.
| to her family and to a wide circle OF friends. /
| was pleased observe that my friend present
| listened with absorbed interest and was not
| ment 1T is refreshing in these days to come
across q piece of pure sentiment"
| Now, nv absent friends performance had its
root. it is true in pure sentiment: but that SEN
timent took q most promptly and effectively
| practical turn. She felt. and then she did,
| Feeling comes always before doing. Love that
| is love is intensely practical The love that -
| not practical 10 not love.
Some ono wondered at Goethe's last achieves
msnt He said IN common; and d, reply reply >, 1t Il
| FORM" No one will deny that Goethe was an
| embodiment Of his maxim. The perceiver par
His maxim is the expression of lifes logic-drss
! the perception. then the performance
| A good mother was lamen,ing to me the
| other day that her daughter, charming girl
! of sixteen. was SO impractical AS an lllustra-
| ton of this quality she repeated to me the guess
| ton which her daughter had put to her IN all
| good faith and sincerity: How does person
| know when a room has been sweptP This
| young woman needed to apply Goethes maxim.
| She needed perception. For the production OF
| Faust" the sweeping room, the same
| sort of practically is required do not know
| what is going to be done with her. Her mother
desires that she shall become occupied with the
| practical affairs of life, butt am not surc that
| her mothers ideas of the practical are. sharp
| enough to strike at the root of the matter. To
become truly and effectively practical one must
| see straight and feel right It Is matter OF
| pure perception and proper sentiment when
this right action of head and heart are obtained.
! the doing will follow. and whether a book is to
be written q room is to be swept. the thing
| in hand will be properly classed among tho
| practical affairs of life.
| After this it is all matter of preoccuDation.
| If the preoccupaton be affair, as in the case
of my absent friend. of pure sentiment. !. O., an
| affare du coeur, it will, as in her case deserva
classification among the practical affairs or lfe
| her vast expenditure of 'pure sentiment" was ac-
| companied by a vast expenditure OF pure per-
ception, and prompt energy and good money, to
| the infinite betterment of all concerned Had
| her preoccupation been the same, but without
| the rightness of sentiment and purity of percep-
| ton, this affection of hers would have resulted
| ;xo anffa ling and ina md
| deserve classification among those wretched so.
| called affai-es du coeur, which can never arrive
at the dignity of the practical affairs OF hte
| The mother of the impractical young girl says,
| and not without degree of satisfaction, that
| her daughter twho cannot understand how
person can know how a room has been swept 10
..all for books" Very we'll That rs her preoc-
| cupation Now, if to this preoccupation she
brings right sentiment and pure perception. her
preoccupation with books will result practically.
| If she has these, she will know tho difference
between clean and unclean in the carpet OF .
room, the character OF a book. But greatly
fear that healthy sentiment and clear percep-
ton are not at present backed by any sense OF
personal responsibility in this young girls mind;
and if So she has a great deal to learn before
the things that concern her can be said to boz
long to the practical affairs OF life.
The root Of all this which grows into busy
and effective human career lies in the sense or
| duty which develops perception and sentiments
into action. which determines preoccupation,
and which brings out OF all performance wnic Q
can be truly classed as among the practical at
fairs of life. Let this be the possession OF the
young girl, and she will become practical
woman: Let it be the possession OF the man OF
affairs. and he will be a practical statesman; let
it De the possession of literary man. and he
will become a practical author. Froebel was
thinker, and in his day few men called him
practical, but his perception WAS pure. his senti-
ment right, and what in this day is more prac-
tical in the affairs of life. when We take a broad
vsw of the needs of human society, than the
| idea embodied in the Kindergarten
| Michelet writer whom most would call
sentimental Yet his perception was SO pure
his sentiment 30 right, that his teachings on love
| and marriage to-day conceded to be by good
| people the most practical OF teachings on the
| most difficult aud delicate subjects in the world.
| The great thing TO be good Goodness is
| the most practical affair of life. l am little